The Long Slow Process of Sunny Solving a Mystery
by DancingGrimm
Summary: Sunny isn't the quickest guy in the world, but he gets there in the end.


The Long, Slow Process of Sunny Solving a Mystery

Sunny isn't the quickest guy in the world, but he gets there in the end.

...

Bored, stuck in IGO HQ guest quarters for the weekend, Sunny wasn't in the best mood to begin with. Wandering through the ugly, grey-painted halls of HQ, desperate for anything to take his mind off the relentless lack of beauty, he eventually decided on the only real course of action available to him;

He'd go and talk to Toriko.

The big oaf was the only person currently in the building that he knew, and while he was usually an absolute void as far as conversation went (favoured topics being food, Komatsu, food cooked by Komatsu and things he'd heard of that sounded like they might taste good), he was at least a known quantity and usually quite tolerable. Besides, Komatsu was around somewhere as well, and he often managed to draw the repertoire out a little, as well as being quite sweet in his way. If nothing else, Sunny could ask him about his pet penguin who had a certain endearing visual appeal.

Toriko hardly ever locked his door when he was here, so Sunny found his room and walked in.

The small guest suite was much the same as his own, not dissimilar to a room from a discount hotel chain; a dismal square of cheap carpet and chipped paint, a creaky bed and a dresser over near the windows and a metal framed couch positioned with its back to the door, cheap coffee table in front of it.

To his surprise, Komatsu was already in there, sitting on the sofa, his tufty black hair just visible above the tops of the cushions. He didn't seem to have noticed the door opening and closing.

Sunny cleared his throat and Komatsu gasped, jumping in his seat but not turning around. Toriko appeared however, from down in front of the sofa somewhere. He knelt up and looked over at Sunny, which was when Sunny realised he had something in his mouth.

"What're you eating?" he demanded. It was just like Toriko to get something good and keep it to himself. Toriko shook his head and swallowed loudly.

"Nothing," he replied cheerily, apparently unmoved by Sunny's glare.

"You just swallowed it! What've you got?"

He stormed forward, aware that Komatsu was squirming around on the sofa, Toriko just kneeling there next to the coffee table, smiling benignly at him.

The table was empty. Well, empty of any food of note, except a jar of honey...that was odd. It was plain stuff from the supermarket, well quite good quality actually, but nothing to try and hide. He leaned over the back of the sofa and looked at Komatsu, who was usually less evasive than his partner.

Komatsu was blushing unattractively, which sadly wasn't unusual in the least.

"It's true, Sunny-san," he said. "I...or...ah...I made something, but it didn't turn out right. But we ate it rather than throw it out. Right?"

Toriko nodded agreement, still irritatingly cheerful. Which meant that whatever it was, it must have been really good.

Damn.

Annoyed, Sunny left the room, back into the depressing grey halls.

...

Whenever they were travelling together, sleeping arrangements went to the same pattern. Toriko and Komatsu shared because they were used to each other, and Toriko sometimes got antsy if his little pet chef wasn't in arms reach. Coco had the smallest tent and, if necessary, shared with whatever animals they had with them, Kiss on this occasion who was roosting in the tent opening. None of the rest of them would share with him because he snored so loudly (and wouldn't a few thousand hearts be broken if _that_ fact was made public?).

That left Sunny sharing with Zebra. Lucky, lucky Sunny.

He wasn't usually that bad, actually. His favourite person to pick fights with was Toriko, so he mostly left Sunny be, then once in the tent he'd just flop down and sleep. This evening however, he was acting oddly.

'Odd' being relative, Zebra was usually aggressive and brittle, but he wasn't often this...fidgety.

Shortly after they'd gone to bed, Zebra had made a weak sound of annoyance, rolled onto his front in his sleeping bag, pressed his face into his pillow, squeezed the sides of the pillow over his ears, and _shuddered_. Sunny had watched him, curious, for a few minutes, and then settled down to sleep himself, unable to hear whatever it was that was bothering his tent-mate so much.

Then the shuffling started.

And the flinching.

And every now and then, a very un-Zebra-like moan.

"Wha's wrong?" Sunny asked, worried.

"Nothing," came the muffled, hoarse response. "Go to sleep."

"I'm tryin', but you keep movin'! It's gettin' on my nerves."

"Shut up!"

Sunny gathered himself to snap back a rude reply, when out in the clearing, just on the edge of his own hearing, he heard a faint cry.

"Wha' was that!" he gasped.

Zebra lifted his face from the pillow and bared his teeth at Sunny.

"I. Said. Shut. _UP_!"

His last word had just enough energy behind it that it ruffled Sunny's hair back. And yeah, he wasn't scared of Zebra or anything, but he shut up. Because...it was night.

He rolled over in his sleeping bag and determinedly ignored Zebra's shuffling noises until he fell asleep.

...

Toriko's kitchen upset Sunny on many levels.

Firstly, there was the pervasive scent of caramel. And yes, it was a kitchen in a house built of sweets and there were fruit vines growing from the floor and ceiling, so obviously it was going to smell sweet, but it was so..._sickly_.

Secondly, the furniture in there was a weird mix of things built out of normal materials (like wood and ceramic and stainless steel) and things built out of the same materials of the house (like cookies and toffee slabs and candy coral). They didn't _match_. It threw off Sunny's aesthetic sense in a nasty way.

Thirdly, only days after this incarnation of the house had been built, Toriko had wandered downstairs for a snack in the middle of the night, half asleep, missed the fridge and taken a bite out of the bottom corner of a cabinet made of chocolate. And he'd _left_ it like that! It screwed up what little balance the blasted room had, for heaven's sake!

Sunny was leaning against the (actually quite reasonable looking)rustic style table, trying not to notice the teeth marks in the window frame while he waited for Toriko to get off the phone, when he noticed the pile of clothes.

It was rather a shock because they were neatly folded, stacked in a small pile on the counter above the washing machine, while Toriko's preferred way of storing his clothes was usually to leave them in a heap on the floor of his bedroom. Sunny walked over to the pile and examined the top garment.

It was pastel, which was uncharacteristic at best. Toriko tended to prefer vibrant colours, the less harmonious with his hair colour the better, which Sunny had always taken as a personal slight. The pale green polo shirt he was holding though was actually quite tasteful, if a little dull.

He unfolded it. It was _tiny_!

In the hall, he heard Toriko say goodbye to Mansam and the click as he closed his phone, then the man himself ambled into the kitchen, thumbs stuck in the pockets of his shorts.

"What temperature'd you wash these on?" Sunny demanded, brandishing the shirt. "Did you dry 'em in the machine or on the line?"

"Uh..." Toriko replied, looking between Sunny and the pile.

"Look at how they've shrunk! Do you even care?"

"Um..." Toriko responded.

"Seriously, you've gotta take better care o' your clothes. I know they never last long anyway but _damn_ it, I'm embarrassed to be seen with you!"

He folded the shirt back up and glanced over at Toriko, who was grinning.

"Comb your hair!" he added.

...

Twenty eight minutes now, and Rin was still crying. Sunny had tried everything he could think of to stop her; he'd affectionately pointed out that she was ruining her chance of making it to forty without crow's feet, tenderly reminded her that her eye-liner was getting all over her face, and informed her of the unpleasant grunting noises she was making with a great deal of fraternal care.

She didn't stop crying though. She slapped him a couple of times...

"What's got you so upset, anyway?" he asked eventually, moving his chair a little further out of her range. She stopped sniffling long enough to take a few deep breaths and look him in the eye.

"I...I liked somebody. But he's dating somebody _e-e-else_!" And with that she dissolved into wet hiccupping noises again.

"Who is this guy?" Sunny demanded, familial protective instincts flaring. "I'll-"

"You won't do _anything_ Sunny," Rin yelled at him. "He'd beat the shit out of you!"

"...seriously?"

"_Yes_. Well, I think so. I'm pretty sure he's stronger than you."

Sunny sighed and risked moving his chair a bit closer to her, reaching out to rub her arm and shoulders. She leaned into him a bit, in a way that reminded him of being kids, the many times when Zebra had mocked her, and she'd come running to him for some comfort.

"C'mon now," he said softly. "What could this other girl possibly have that you don't? Hmm?"

Rin sniffled. "It's a guy," she mumbled.

"Oh. Uh...is he better lookin' than you?"

"_No_. Well, I don't think so. Maybe. He might be sort of... cute, I guess."

Sunny gave her a hug. "I bet he can't measure up to you," He told her.

"Thanks."

"Just..." his eye caught a dark smudge on his shirt front. "Is that mascara? Did you get mascara on me?"

"Sunny-"

"Oh God! This is _silk_!"

He heard Rin sigh as he ran from the room.

...

Sunny _hated_ sea travel. Stuck on a boat for weeks, the salt air drying out his skin, crammed in a confined space with hundreds of other people and their seriously unbeautiful habits and _odours_, surrounded by salt _water_ which was even worse for his skin than the air...

And then there was this _woman_. God! He couldn't even believe it!

She'd been after him for days, an emaciated, craggy faced creature with far too much make up and terrible taste in clothes, so used to having a gold digging toy boy on her arm that she'd gotten it into her head she could have whoever she liked. Well, he supposed that it was only natural that she wanted him, he was stunning after all, but once he'd turned her down he would've expected the woman to show a little dignity and leave him be.

Yet here he was, three whole days after her initial approach and his refusal, running like a damn bolt gecko through the winding corridors of the stupid cruise ship, trying to get away.

His best chance was to get back to his own cabin. She hadn't worked out where it was yet, and if he could keep it that way then he could retain that safe haven. For the time being though, he had no idea where he was, just one of many corridors full of doors letting into cabins on both sides. And then, miracle! He noticed the numbers on the doors and it occurred to him that he was near the cabin Toriko and Komatsu were sharing.

He turned a corner and there it was, number 1808. Safety!

The door was locked. They'd probably both be at dinner still, and normally he wouldn't go in when they weren't around, but this was an emergency. Slipping a bundle of his feelers into the keyhole, Sunny pushed and jiggled the tumblers of the lock until they slid back and he could wrench the door open. Not a second too soon, he could already hear the racket the woman's hooker heels made on the floor, he slipped into the room and closed the door behind him.

Leaning back against the door, he let out a sigh of relief. The noise of footsteps went past on the other side and he almost cheered. Tiredly he lifted the back of his head away from the surface of the door and looked around the room.

"Oh!"

Toriko and Komatsu were sitting on the sofa next to the open balcony doors, staring at him with surprise.

"Ah, sorry 'bout the lock, but it was an emergency. There's this..."

Komatsu was sitting on Toriko's lap.

What?

_What_?

"Matsu, what's wrong?" Sunny cried, rushing across the room to them. "Are you okay? Toriko, you bastard, did you let him get hurt?"

"No!" Toriko replied, clearly annoyed. "He's not _hurt_. What are you doing in here?"

"There's this totally unbeau'ful woman and...wait, so why's Matsu sittin' on you?"

"I'm okay Sunny-san, really. Do you have to find this woman of yours?"

"Ick! No woman of mine would wear so much lipstick! But she keeps chasing me, and-"

"Did you lock the door after you?" Toriko interrupted.

"Wha'?"

_Creak_

"Sunny-chan, here you are!" crowed an unpleasantly familiar voice.

Toriko and Komatsu ducked as Sunny vaulted over the sofa and fled out onto the balcony, using locks of his hair to grab the railing of the matching balcony on the floor above and haul himself up. He could hear the woman yelling something about a caveman, so he guessed she'd discovered Toriko.

Toriko was a big boy, he'd cope.

...

After observing and declaring approval of the elegant decor at Hotel IGO, Sunny had to admit he was disappointed at the kitchen. Having finished the very tasty meal Komatsu had arranged for him, sick of listening to Toriko gulping down the usual mountain food at the table, he'd wandered in to take a look and...

Yeah.

Komatsu was their little treasure, surely? Couldn't the IGO have given him a prettier work space? And yes, all the metal panels and ceramic tiles were probably very hygienic and practical, but damn it, Sunny hated practical! It made him itch.

At least Komatsu was worth admiring. The other chefs had become nervous when they realised that Sunny was watching them, but Komatsu had quickly and smoothly calmed everyone down and got them back to work, preparing the last few trolleys full of Toriko feed and organising clean up with a smooth confidence that Sunny rarely got a glimpse of. Sunny knew that, as soon as all the food was out, Komatsu would change out of his work clothes and go out into the restaurant to join them for coffee. When that happened, but not before (not with Toriko vacuuming up tagliatelle out there), Sunny would go back out too.

Watching Komatsu work, an event from earlier in the day drifted up into his mind. When they'd all met up at the train station near Toriko's house, Toriko's wolf had totally snubbed Sunny, like, not even let him near it. When he asked Toriko, he'd just said that Terry only liked...what was it he'd said? 'Me and mine' or words to that affect. And Sunny had no desire to be Toriko's, thanks, and if that meant not getting to make friendly with the wolf, well, never mind (though its fur was _absolutely_ beautiful).

When Komatsu turned up though, Terry _licked_ him.

Sunny had been startled, he could admit it, and had thought for a moment that they were about to lose their chef, but Komatsu had just laughed it off and patted Terry's neck in a familiar way. What exactly was it that made Komatsu part of this canine oriented inner circle and not him? He'd grown up alongside Toriko, loved him like a brother...well, like an annoying brother who made too many eating noises, but still!

Snubbed by a pooch!

"Matsu, why's Terry like you so much?" he asked the chef, who's hair still lay a little too flat on one side due to having been slobbered on.

"Well Sunny-san, I suppose because I'm around so much."

"Yeah but, I've been around it a lot too, and it still doesn't like me."

"I guess there's a difference though, right?"

"...there is?"

"Yes. You being around Toriko-san is different to me being around him. You know?"

"No. What do you-"

"Uh, Sunny-san, have you seen our new cake presentation plates? Look!"

"Oh Matsu, they're so...shiny..."

...

Sunny's conditions for letting Toriko come out to dinner with him to the new restaurant he'd discovered were threefold.

1. He combed his hair and put on a suit

2. He ate something before coming out so he didn't end up inhaling the _entire_ contents of the kitchen

3. He looked at the food, and at least _attempted_ to appreciate it, before he ate it

So far Toriko had, Sunny had to admit, behaved very well indeed, he was even dressed quite well. So, between courses, Sunny decided that Toriko probably wouldn't do anything irreparably embarrassing while left to his own devices and went to the bathroom to freshen up. He ran a brush through his hair, neatened his eyebrows, filed a couple of nails back into perfection, combed his lashes, applied some lip-gloss and ran the lint roller over his jacket, but was hardly even gone fifteen minutes, which was why he was so surprised to return to the dining room and find that Toriko had company.

The woman sitting in Sunny's seat at the table was, quite frankly, exquisite. She was tall and hourglass shaped and, unlike so many woman of such stature, she had resisted the temptation to wear overtly sexy clothes, having chosen instead a long, deep green gown with a cowl neckline and a low back. Her dark hair was carefully arranged in flowing waves and her makeup formal but very subtle, showing off her lovely complexion. And somehow, Toriko's bulk next to her contrasted her very well, making her appear even more graceful and elegant.

Sunny decided not to follow his first instinct (which was, naturally, to interfere) and went and sat at the bar to give them their privacy.

There was a mirror behind the bar. He could spy on them that way without any uncouth gawking.

The woman was definitely flirting, speaking softly to encourage Toriko to lean closer to her, placing her hand on his forearm in such a perfect balance of coquettishness and modesty that Sunny couldn't help but be impressed with her technique. Not to mention her focus; every time Toriko's eyes left her she said _something_ (and Sunny would have loved to hear what) to get his attention firmly back on her.

Why did women like this go for Toriko? Well, Sunny could sort of see the appeal. He was a cheerful sort and the childish simplicity of him was appealing in a dippy kind of way. And, well, he _was_ very well built. Sunny occasionally checked him out when he lost his shirt, in a friendly way of course, and had to admit that Toriko's physique was more than sufficient to turn heads.

And...yes, there we go, the woman reached up and ran her hand over the curve of Toriko's vast bicep in a much more overt move than she'd been using before. She must be losing patience. Toriko was being oddly evasive, looking around the room and doing virtually nothing to keep the conversation going. Strange that he wouldn't respond to such a beautiful woman.

Could it be that he didn't find her attractive? No, he wasn't _that_ stupid.

Maybe she smelled of something. Too much perfume? Or perhaps it was something that other people couldn't smell but that Toriko was repelled by. Sunny sniffed hard but couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary. The bar tender looked at him funny though.

Finally the woman brought out the big guns, arching her back and leaning in such a way that Toriko really had no choice but to look down her cleavage...but he _didn't_! What was wrong with the man?

Toriko rose to his feet and headed for the door, saying something about a smoke. The woman, confused and annoyed, got up too and headed for the bar as he left. She even walked beautifully. What had short circuited in Toriko's head?

Then the mystery unfolding in Sunny's mind was cut short as she settled on a bar stool just a few feet away from him. She sighed sadly, then moments later looked at him from the corners of her eyes.

Sunny's time to shine.

...

"You won't have to do anything but back me up. That's all I'm asking," Coco said in that oh-so-reasonable voice of his.

"I thought you said this place was seriously dangerous. Too dangerous to go alone, right?"

He heard Coco sigh over the phone line. "What are you getting at Sunny?"

"I'm getting at that Toriko is your partner of choice when going dangerous places, right? Why me this time? You plannin' somethin' Coco?"

"What? No, Toriko is just busy."

"Well maybe I'm busy. Maybe I've got better things to do than go huntin' poisonous lizards with-"

"_Venomous_ lizards, they're very rare and the IGO-"

"What's the difference?"

"What?"

"Poisonous and venomous. C'mon Mr Expert, what's the difference?"

Coco sighed again. "Poison is ingested, venom is introduced into the skin or bloodstream."

"...there really is a difference?"

"_Yes_ Sunny, now will you come with me or not?"

"Yeah, okay. But what's got Toriko so busy now? Has the old man given him some more trainin' stuff or somethin'?"

"No...you know, he and Komatsu...they need some time. You know?"

"Time for what?"

"...Never mind about Toriko. Now, let me tell you about this lizard."

"Lizards are gross Coco, I hope you realise that I'm betrayin' my own values to help you with this."

Coco sighed again.

...

Sunny was sick of it. Coco had been evasive the whole time they'd been away looking for that stupid lizard (which _was_ gross, he'd been totally right), Rin still wouldn't tell him who it was that'd broken her heart, Zebra got all twitchy every time they had to spend a night anywhere as a group and Toriko and Komatsu were just being weird.

And never around. What the hell could be keeping them so much to themselves?

Finally sick of the whole damn lot of them, Sunny decided to take a vacation.

Breeze Town was a beautiful little coastal town, with a pleasantly warm climate and gorgeous beaches. And yes, there were a lot of tourists about at this time of year, but for the relaxation the various hotels and spas in the area could offer, Sunny was willing to put up with a few crowds. By his third day he felt refreshed, rejuvenated, totally and completely _away_ from everything that bothered him.

So why, when walking along one of the pleasantly bustling main streets, did he see Toriko?

The big jerk was sitting on a bench outside a picturesque cafe, leaning back against the low brick wall that surrounded the outside dining area. The cafe wasn't busy, nobody was sparing him a glance except for Sunny. Sunny concealed himself behind a tree on the other side of the street and watched him, worried that being spotted would mean the end of his vacation.

Fortunately for him though, Komatsu came out of the cafe then, carrying two glasses of beer, and all of Toriko's attention was immediately on him. Komatsu seemed perfectly relaxed and happy, so they probably weren't there to hunt anything. So why, then?

Komatsu handed one of the glasses to Toriko, then climbed up onto the bench next to his partner. But instead of sitting on it, he instead perched on the brick wall, his feet resting on the bench, which put his and Toriko's heads at about the same height for once. Toriko smiled at him and slid his arm around the little guy's waist, which was sort of sweet.

Actually, despite how much Toriko annoyed him and how jealous he was of his claim on Komatsu, it really was good to see the big lug looking so happy with his partner. They were such good friends, such confidantes, they...

They...

They were kissing!

From across the street he couldn't really see much apart from the back of Toriko's head, but there wasn't anything else they _could_ be doing. They were close, heads tilted slightly, Komatsu's small hand cupping the back of Toriko's head.

Sunny was shocked. He was astounded!

He was sorely tempted to try and get a better look.

Unfortunately, by this time he was drawing a few curious looks himself, given that he was basically peeping at two kissing men from behind a tree. He left as stealthily as he could, though he needn't have worried as neither Toriko nor Komatsu were paying the least bit of attention to anything beyond one another. It was as he was walking back to his hotel, considering how to subtly let them know that he'd found out about their relationship, that it occurred to him;

This was good gossip. _Really_ good!

There was an extra spring in his step as he returned to his hotel, thinking of the best possible way to drive the others crazy.

...

It was only a week later that Sunny got his chance. There was a meeting in Biotope 1, one of the few places where Zebra was allowed to be off his leash, as Mansam wanted to talk to the four of them about something that had gone on in the garden.

Sunny timed it perfectly, arriving well in advance of Toriko, just after Coco had flown in on Kiss' back. So, when he entered the conference room in the cellar level, still trying to fix his hair after the damned decontamination shower, everyone was there but Toriko.

"You'll never guess what I found out," he announced coolly, closing the door behind him.

Coco and Mansam turned to look at him. Zebra sighed and shook his head.

"What is it Sunny?" Coco asked, distractedly rearranging the few sheets of paper on the table in front of him. Sunny grinned.

"It's good," he said. "Really really good. You _really_ wanna hear this."

Mansam and Zebra looked at each other, then turned to watch whatever it was Coco was doing with the paper.

"Hey!" Sunny snapped. "I'm not kidding, you gotta hear this. It's..._salacious_!"

_That_ got their attention, though for Zebra it seemed mainly because he wanted to know what salacious meant, but they were all looking at him. Sunny preened.

"While I was away," he began in hushed tones...

Then the door opened and Toriko lumbered in.

Damn him!

"Sorry I'm late," he announced, dumping his bag onto the table and flopping into a chair. "I was meeting that real estate guy. You know, the one with the chin?" This last seemed to be directed mainly at Coco, who looked confused.

"You're buying property, Toriko?" Mansam asked.

"Yeah. Komatsu's not sure about moving in with me 'cause the commutes too long to get to the hotel, so I'm gonna buy a place closer to the city. It's gonna be made of bricks and...tiles and other stuff." Toriko grinned proudly.

"Congratulations," Coco said, smiling warmly. "It's nice to know you two are serious."

Mansam reached over to slap Toriko on the shoulder, then wiped at his eye.

"Sorry Sunny, what were you saying?" he asked.

Sunny shrugged, glaring at Toriko. "Screw it," he said.

...

It occurred to me that Sunny can be...not exactly dumb, but perhaps a bit narrow minded and slow to notice important things (e.g. that he'd caught the baby mammoth instead of the adult, that Toriko was behind him while he was trying to head-hunt Komatsu, that his sister had just been thrown off a cliff, etc) so I got it into my head to see how long he could remain oblivious to two of his friends being an item. It turned out to be quite a long time.

I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
